Degrees of Losing: A Challenge to the Federal Frozen Benefit Rule

The 2016 amendment to the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act dramatically changed the level of discretion afforded to states in dividing military retired pay between divorcing parties. Now, all divorces involving an active service member at the time of divorce must adhere to Congress’s strict formula when dividing the former spouse’s interest in the service member’s pension. This Note explores the question of whether Congress overstepped its constitutional limitations in directing the actions of state courts, whether the new rule may violate principles of equal protection doctrine, and whether a challenge to the novel scheme has any chance of success. This Note proposes a potential challenge and, finally, asks why we should treat military service members and their money differently in the first place

HB 1: FORUM Act

The Act prevents the creation of free speech zones at public institutions of higher education including Georgia universities, colleges, and technical colleges. Additionally, the Act allows universities to create reasonable, content- and viewpoint-neutral, and narrowly tailored time, place, and manner restrictions on any expressive activity on campus

Affective interaction with a virtual character through an fNIRS brain-computer interface

Affective brain-computer interfaces (BCI) harness Neuroscience knowledge to develop affective interaction from first principles. In this article, we explore affective engagement with a virtual agent through Neurofeedback (NF). We report an experiment where subjects engage with a virtual agent by expressing positive attitudes towards her under a NF paradigm. We use for affective input the asymmetric activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC), which has been previously found to be related to the high-level affective-motivational dimension of approach/avoidance. The magnitude of left-asymmetric DL-PFC activity, measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and treated as a proxy for approach, is mapped onto a control mechanism for the virtual agent’s facial expressions, in which action units (AUs) are activated through a neural network. We carried out an experiment with 18 subjects, which demonstrated that subjects are able to successfully engage with the virtual agent by controlling their mental disposition through NF, and that they perceived the agent’s responses as realistic and consistent with their projected mental disposition. This interaction paradigm is particularly relevant in the case of affective BCI as it facilitates the volitional activation of specific areas normally not under conscious control. Overall, our contribution reconciles a model of affect derived from brain metabolic data with an ecologically valid, yet computationally controllable, virtual affective communication environment

Biografie, spazi, contesti: educare alla Storia

In this years, historical witnesses of the Resistenza movement are dissolving. In this context where historical knowledge is facing with a growing crisis, how can we stimulate young generation's interest twoards the Resistance movement? The paper tries to answer to this request. Particularly, we are going to propose two hypothesis for didactical work. Firslty, deepening studies about the men and the women who faced with unexpectable choices; secondly, the analysis of places known by students but not appreciated in their historical meaning. In this way, we can approach people to history

Modeling choices for ecological solid waste management in suburban municipalities : user fees in Tuba, Philippines

Using a participatory approach, this study looks at how a local government in the Philippines might organize and finance solid waste management to meet strict new national targets. Using a "choice modeling" approach, the researchers were able to see how people and companies value the attributes of various waste management services and how much they would be willing to pay for them. The attributes included frequency of waste collection and the methods used to take away the garbage. Based on survey results and an analysis of waste management costs, the study recommends the option with the lowest maintenance and operating costs and the highest cost recovery levels: once-a-week collection of residual waste by municipal workers with a garbage truck. Even with this option, however, user fees could only partially finance the costs of this service. Achieving the new national standards at even a minimum level would leave a suburban municipality with a "funding gap" of PhP 2 million per year between the costs and expected revenue from user fees

Diagnosis of exercise-induced left bundle branch block at rest by scintigraphic phase analysis

Accurate diagnosis of diseases of the ventricular conducting system is essential for their appropriate therapy. some conduction abnormalities, such as exercise-induced left bundle branch block (EX-LBBB), are not apparent on resting electrocardiograms. Phase analysis of rest and exercise radionuclide ventriculograms (RVG's) was used to compare four EX-LBBB patients with six normal controls. All patients had normal resting electrocardiograms, ejection fractions, and visually normal wall motion. First harmonic phase images were generated reflecting the timing of ventricular contraction. Dynamic phase displays were reviewed and graded in a blinded fashion by three independent experienced observers. Phase angle histograms of the right and left ventricle were determined for both resting and exercise images. The mean phase angle and standard deviation were also calculated for each ventricle. Visual grading of the resting phase images failed to show a significant difference between normal patients and patients with EX-LBBB. Quantitative analysis, however, revealed a significant difference in mean phase angle differences (LV-RV) in resting studies: 0.8° (±1.9° SEM) in normals versus 9.3° (±2.3° SEM) in EX-LBBB patients ( P <0.03). Exercise accentuated the phase angle differences: 1.8° in normals vs. 31.2° in EX-LBBB patients ( P <0.001). Quantitative phase analysis of resting RVG's permits the diagnosis of cardiac conduction disease that is not apparent on the resting EKG and may result in better monitoring and treatment.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46821/1/259_2004_Article_BF00261005.pd

The appended curve technique for deconvolutional analysis —method and validation

Deconvolutional analysis (DCA) is useful in correction of organ time activity curves (response function) for variations in blood activity (input function). Despite enthusiastic reports of applications of DCA in renal and cardiac scintigraphy, routine use has awaited an easily implemented algorithm which is insensitive to statistical noise. The matrix method suffers from the propagation of errors in early data points through the entire curve. Curve fitting or constraint methods require prior knowledge of the expected form of the results. DCA by Fourier transforms (FT) is less influenced by single data points but often suffers from high frequency artifacts which result from the abrupt termination of data acquisition at a nonzero value.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46829/1/259_2004_Article_BF00254393.pd

Menu, Tuscan Oven, Tampa, Florida, circa 1990s

A menu for Tuscan Oven located at 808 South Howard Avenue in Tampa, Florida, circa 1990s.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/fl_menu/1260/thumbnail.jp

Degrees of Losing: A Challenge to the Federal Frozen Benefit Rule

The 2016 amendment to the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act dramatically changed the level of discretion afforded to states in dividing military retired pay between divorcing parties. Now, all divorces involving an active service member at the time of divorce must adhere to Congress’s strict formula when dividing the former spouse’s interest in the service member’s pension. This Note explores the question of whether Congress overstepped its constitutional limitations in directing the actions of state courts, whether the new rule may violate principles of equal protection doctrine, and whether a challenge to the novel scheme has any chance of success. This Note proposes a potential challenge and, finally, asks why we should treat military service members and their money differently in the first place

Autonomous vehicles and their interaction with section 2(1) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have developed rapidly due to the efforts of industry stakeholders such as Tesla. However, concerns remain as to how AVs may interact with English law. The strict product liability regime enacted by the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA) has been identified by the Law Commission and UK Government as the civil law regime most capable of accommodating litigation involving harms caused by an AV and enabling those injured to recover damages. Despite this, the Law Commission has highlighted the need to review the CPA in light of existing concerns and challenges AVs may present. The CPA has long been viewed by commentators such as Stapleton, Goldberg, and Fairgrieve as poorly suited to its purpose and presenting claimants with a very low likelihood of success. It appears likely the CPA will play a role in future litigation involving AVs, and so by extension, any challenges arising in litigation brought under it may have a subsequent knock-on effect upon the willingness of stakeholders, consumers and producers to trust, adopt and invest in the technology. In light of these concerns, this thesis examines the CPA and its potential interaction with AVs to identify potential challenges and present reasoned recommendations on how their effects may be mitigated. This thesis will focus on the requirements for liability (defectiveness and causation) set out in section 2(1). Due to the critical nature of the requirements of defectiveness and causation in actions brought under the Act, the challenges to satisfying these requirements will likely arise in actions involving AVs)